Troon 1
Clydebank 2
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

The Bankies concluded their league campaign this afternoon as they began it – with a win. I don’t think anyone who was present at the opening game of the season against Gartcairn would believe in their wildest dreams that the league would be won in such a convincing fashion.

The 2-1 victory over Troon at Portland Park made it a total of 24 wins from 30 games and with just one defeat in the season it is a quite outstanding record, and to have the league title in the bag with five games to go shows the margin between us and our nearest rivals.

There is another way at looking at this which makes it all the more impressive. The defeat of Benburb was the game in which we could no longer be caught in the league race, however if you look at the table today you will see that the maximum points that can be accrued by the second placed team is 60 by Auchinleck Talbot. The Bankies actually surpassed the 60-point mark on matchday 23 when we defeated Talbot at Holm Park, which meant we had, in effect, clinched the title by the end of March.

With the first leg of the play-offs against Musselburgh Athletic taking place next Saturday, Gordon Moffat brought back most of his rested players from Darvel the previous week. Prior to the game, Troon graciously formed a guard of honour for the Clydebank players as they took to the pitch.

I’m not sure about the history of this, but I was always under the impression that a guard of honour was only given in the game following a title win. This is now the fifth time the opposition have made this gesture, and while it is gratefully received there seems to be a slight element of overkill five weeks after the fact.

Most people will have an idea of our strongest line-up for the play-off games, but there are definitely one or two positions up for grabs, and I’m giving my man of the match to one of those contenders for his first half performance, and that is Aaron Black.

He was clearly the most motivated Clydebank player on the field, and both goals were set up by him. He was a constant problem for the Troon defence in the first period, and his pressing forced a nervy home side into several errors.

The opening goal was scored in just under two minutes, and it came about from a fine forward pass by Nicky Low which found Aaron Black in the left-hand channel. Black jinked round a defender, and we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was a low cross to the back post and not a shot. Whatever it was, it found the in-rushing Lee Gallacher who had a simple tap in to give the Bankies the lead.

Black had already sent out a warning to the Troon rearguard when keeper Burgess dithered with the ball at his feet, and Aaron Black almost robbed him on his blindside.

The lesson wasn’t learned and Morrison lost his balance while taking too much time on the ball at the edge of the penalty area. Black was just too quick for him and stole the ball forcing Burgess to race from his line. The Bankies forward unselfishly squared the ball for Lee Gallacher who was in a better position, and he steadied himself before firing the ball into the unguarded net.

To be perfectly honest the rest of the match was a bit of a snoozefest. The Bankies went into game management mode for the most part, and Troon barely mustered a shot at goal in the first half, save for a long ball that Syme mis-judged. This allowed Jamieson to attempt a lob over Leishman’s head, but the ball cleared the bar by around a foot.

The second half was more of the same, though Nicky Little twice shot over the bar from decent positions which given the season he has had can be forgiven. Once Gordon Moffat began to withdraw some of his key players with next week in mind, the Bankies became even less adventurous.

Troon for their part gave a number of their youth players a taste of top-level action, and their energy did cause some problems in the closing stages. They were rewarded with a goal five minutes from time when Kieran Logan forced the ball home from a Jack Allan cross.

So, part one of Clydebank’s season has ended. It was 30 games long and has been successfully negotiated. Part two consists of just two games and not to put too fine a point on it, these are the most important in the club’s recent history.

East of Scotland League Champions Musselburgh Athletic stand in our way, and they celebrated their title triumph today. They proclaimed the fact that they are unbeaten at home this season and this may indicate the size of the task that awaits us at the Olivebank Arena.

What we don’t know is how the standard of the East league compares to the West. Most of the bigger clubs from the East have already progressed to the Lowland League and some beyond, whilst the West was still getting its act together.

It would be great if there was some inspirational comment to end this report, but the best I can do is wish the players the best of luck in the next two weeks. They have looked ready for this all season, and they will make a lot of normally grumpy people very happy if they can take us to the Lowland League. Come on Bankies!!

Match report written by Stuart McBay